Branch

BRANCH

Official Hunter and Front Line Fighter

Resident Baby

Branch lay flat on the forest floor, enraptured by the battle occurring right in front of his eyes. The fighting was so intense his breath quickened, and the pads of his feet were moist with sweat. Who would win? Both sides were equally powerful, possessing strengths the other lacked. It was a fight to the death, and Branch’s eyes were riveted on both opponents, waiting for one of them to strike the final blow.

The grasshopper made a final, desperate attempt to escape the clutches of the swarm of ants surrounding it, it’s hind legs spasming with the strain. But as the seconds ticked by, more reinforcements arrived, nimbly climbing the spindly legs of their opponent and sinking their miniscule pinchers into it’s hard exoskeleton. Desperately, the grasshopper hopped again, barely moving an inch this time. The weight of the ants was too much for him. A few minutes later, the swarm covered its entire body and the grasshopper finally collapsed to the ground: defeated.

Branch sighed and turned away from his entertainment, quickly scanning the forest around him in search of something else to keep him occupied. The sun beat down through the canopy above, and yet, despite the oppressive heat, the young male Spiral was full of energy. He was in his element, surrounded by a green world of endless nooks and crannies to explore, a place where there was always something new to discover: the Viridian Labyrinth.

Several years ago, he himself had been born into Nature Flight, and although his endless curiosity about the natural world urged him to leave his birth clan, he couldn’t imagine leaving the Gladekeeper’s realm for good. He had ventured outside of its borders on several occasions, but each time, he found himself wandering back to the land in which he had been born, as if some mysterious voice was calling him home...

The sound of footsteps broke Branch out of his quiet reverie, and his eyes darted around the forest clearing, looking for somewhere to hide. Over the years, he had become quite adept at camouflage, which came in handy, since he spent much of his time trespassing in other clan’s territories. In his defense, it was difficult to keep track of the clan’s territorial boundaries when there were hundreds of them scattered throughout the Viridian Labyrinth. He had had a few close calls with some of the more hostile clans in this area before, and he was not inclined to do so again.

He spotted the perfect tree to his right, and quickly slithered up its trunk, draping his wings just so so that they mimicked the clumps of green leaves dangling down from its branches. His body blended in perfectly with the pattern of the tree’s bark, as if his form had been specifically designed for concealment.

The pair of dragons drew closer, and Branch thanked the gods that there was no breeze to blow his scent in their direction. He closed his eyes and willed his heartbeat to quiet as the dragons entered the clearing.

That’s when the smell hit him.

A smell so vile and putrid that he gagged involuntarily, bile rising in his throat. The smell of rotting flesh. Branch’s eyes snapped open, taking in the two female Skydancers scanning the clearing below, their searing red eyes burning with a feverish hunger: Plague flight.

With each step the intruders took, contagion spread beneath their feet. Flowers and ferns withered and died, the roots of trees turned black with a rot that quickly slithered its way to their trunks. The smell of death grew stronger with each step they took, just as Branch grew more and more enraged.

These dragons were defiling his forest, destroying his home, right before his eyes. He glanced down to the spot where the colony of ants had been devouring their grasshopper meal mere minutes ago. They were all dead now.

In a split second, Branch made his decision. He was no fighter, had never received any formal combat training, had never needed to fight another dragon, but he could not sit idly by and let these Plaguebringer minions destroy his beloved home. He waited until the two dragons stood just below his tree, still oblivious to his presence. He would use the element of surprise to his advantage.

The first female cried out as Branch sank his fangs into her neck, almost releasing his grip when the taste of her foul blood hit his tongue. The second female was on him in a second, ripping through the delicate tendons in his wing and sending her talons raking along his flank. The Spiral snarled in pain, but held firm to the first female, digging his own talons into her sides and using his full weight to bring her to the ground.

Enraged and frightened for her companions safety, the second female launched herself at Branch’s neck. This female was bigger and stronger than her companion, precisely why Branch hadn’t chosen to attack her first. He could tell from the way the pair had moved through the forest that they were close to one another, trusted one another completely. From his perch, he had decided on a bold strategy. He would injure the weaker dragon so severely that her companion would be forced to make a decision: watch her friend die while fighting her attacker single handedly, or retreat to the Scarred Wasteland together and seek help from a healer.

As soon as he felt the larger female’s jaws on his neck, Branch released his grip on her companion, but not before sinking his teeth just deep enough to breach her carotid artery. Immediately, the wounded female began choking, coughing up thick red blood while even more flowed profusely from the fatal wound in her neck.

Branch wasted no time. He immediately retaliated against the second female, spiraling his body around to slash at her face with his back claws. Momentarily distracted by the cries of her dying friend, the Skydancer didn’t see his attack coming and let out a terrifying screech as Branch’s claws made contact with her left eye. She released her grip on the Spiral immediately and staggered away from him, taking in her opponent and the damage done to her companion with her remaining eye. Branch watched as her gaze flicked between them both. And then lingered on the Skydancer on the ground, still writhing in pain, the pool of blood around her growing larger by the second.

In a flash, the larger female ran to her comrade’s side, hoisted her swiftly onto her back, and took to the skies, without so much as a backward glance.

Branch’s gamble had paid off. Turns out, even Plague flight dragons had hearts.

His relief quickly faded, however, as the pain from his own injuries took over, and Branch collapsed to the ground where he stood, exhausted, yet triumphant.

As he faded into unconsciousness, the smell of new spring growth lingered in his nostrils….

When Branch finally came to, he was surprised to feel cool grass beneath his hide. His eyes cracked open, and as his vision focused, he realized with shock that the entire clearing was full of fresh vegetation, glistening in myriad shades of green. A cool breeze caressed his skin, and Branch glanced down at his body to discover no trace of the brutal beating he had endured what felt like moments ago. The sun had not yet set in the sky, so Branch knew he couldn’t have been asleep for more than a few hours… What had happened here? Surely he hadn’t imagined it all-- his memories were far too vivid to have just been a dream…

Still in a daze, Branch wandered to the edge of the clearing where a small spring gurgled up from beneath the ground, forming a deep, calm pool. He dipped his face to the water’s surface, hoping the cool, refreshing water would snap him out of his uncertainty.

But when he saw his reflection in the water, he froze.

There on his forehead, glowing with a deep green light, was a druidic emblem. Branch had heard of such an emblem appearing on dragons that had made great sacrifices or performed acts of highest honor for their deity, but like everyone else, he had assumed them to be myths. And yet, here he was, in a clearing now teaming with life, yet which had been full of rot and decay mere hours ago, staring at a mark on his forehead that could have come from only one source: The Gladekeeper.

~written by Xayxayx~